


Reclamation

by emblazonet



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Choking, Dunmer - Freeform, F/M, Femdom, Light BDSM, M/M, Multi, Snark, Tentacle Sex, plot if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-15
Updated: 2016-01-15
Packaged: 2018-05-14 04:52:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5730190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emblazonet/pseuds/emblazonet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Under the threat of Miraak, Dovahkiin Avaru Nerethi finds solace in new lovers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Avaru and Neloth

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this has only been in progress for two-and-a-half years. Many thanks to my friends who provided editing and comments. <3
> 
> The conceit of my Dragonborn character, Avaru Nerethi, is that she awoke from her battle with Alduin with amnesia. This is because before Dragonborn (the DLC) came out, I managed to completely bork the save of my previous Dragonborn character. So, not wanting to do everything over again and wanting to play a high-level character, I downloaded someone else's, a character who had roughly the same skillset and accomplishments, and tweaked her appearance and name into Avaru Nerethi.

  
Avaru Nerethi caught the hitch in Neloth's voice after she had turned to go. At first she thought she had imagined it. She whipped around anyway. After her too-recent trip into Apocrypha, she was like an exposed nerve, all tension, attention, reaction—little else.

"What was that?" she asked. Neloth quirked an eyebrow at her. The expression that had crossed his face, some twist of his regular scowl, tugged at her fragmented memories.

"I said only that I will be glad to see the rear end of you, as I have experiments to attend to," Neloth said.

They were in the doorway to Neloth's bedroom. Neloth had been pacing throughout Tel Mithryn; Avaru had kept pace with him. She stared at him now, fascinated.

Neloth snorted. "Such a furrowed brow. I said, I _will_ be experimenting. Not that I _was_ an experiment."

Avaru threw her arm out and her mailed palm thudded into the fungal wood of the doorframe. Neloth, about to enter his room, looked down his nose at her. She stepped so close that the metal ornaments on Neloth's robe clinked against her cuirass. They were of a height, and Avaru was so close to him she could smell canis root on his breath. To be expected. "No," she said thoughtfully, "I think you are my experiment."

She felt him stiffen as her mouth crashed down on his. He made a muffled sound of protest. Her other hand found his throat and pressed. She didn't mind canis root, she supposed. His lips were softer than she expected—well, what had she expected? He was only flesh. Warm flesh, and yielding. When she pulled back, his mouth was parted and he was gasping. She let up on the hand that held his throat, and there were mail-prints on his skin.

"Avaru—" The disdain in his tone wavered.

"Yes?" She began to unbuckle her mail gauntlets.

But he'd fallen speechless. He straightened and jerked away, looking around the tower.

Avaru's arm stopped him. "Talvas isn't here right now, Neloth." She ran the metal tip of her finger over his cheek. He shuddered, and she grinned. She jerked her head at the bedroom. "In."

To her surprise and pleasure, he went. She shut the door behind them and threw the bolt. He was still frowning, but there was bewilderment in his wide eyes. And hunger.

She removed her gauntlets and set them down on the nearest table. Then she grabbed Neloth's robes and dragged him close. "You want this," she stated, though it was really a question. She needed to make sure he did want it.

Neloth's throat worked before he finally said, "Yes."

It would have surprised her, if she had been in a thinking mood, how easy it was for her to understand he wanted her. Prickly as trama root, but a Telvanni Master was powerful enough to be honest. Avaru must once have known many men and mer of power who liked, in private, to give power up, because her instincts told her so.

"Kneel," she said, and he did with only a little hesitation. There was something clouded and far-away in his expression, as if he were remembering past lusts. She paused, finger to her mouth, appreciating the image: his harsh old face softened by memory, his robes flowing about him, the candle-and-magelight glimmering off his amulets and rings, some of which shone oddly with their enchantments. She reached out to touch his uplifted face. He inhaled sharply and she savoured it like a reward.

"Very good," she said, and bent down to kiss him.

She circled him, mostly to get her thoughts in order. She reached down and pulled his scarf away, not quickly, so that he could feel the pull of it on the skin of his throat and cheek as she removed it. "Disrobe. You may stand to do so."

Immediately he stood and undid the fastenings at the front of his robes. She stood close to him, untying the sash at his waist, dropping it over the fallen scarf. Before he had removed his robes, she reached inside to caress him. She pressed her mouth to the hollow of his throat and kissed it. Her thumb brushed a nipple and his breath hitched. She smiled against his warm skin.

"What you did before," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes?"

He touched his throat.

"In time," she promised.

She pushed his robe off his shoulders, running her hands down his arms. He inhaled deeply and shuddered on the exhale. Then she shoved him onto the bed. She straddled him at once, pressing him down with a firm hand to the chest.

"Avaru," he said.

"Yes?"

"Command me." His eyes were half-lidded, his voice distant and growling with lust.

She smiled. "I'm still wearing clothing. And armour. You should help me with that."

He raised himself on his elbows, and she shifted off him. His hands fumbled a little on the various straps and buckles and ties of her light cuirass, though whether with lust or unfamiliarity with armour she didn't know. That was the extent of her armour: he had her shirt off in no time, and was pressing kisses to her breasts. She moaned appreciatively.

She stood, divested herself of trousers and boots. They kissed for a long while, like a conversation. Avaru stroked his ears, throat, chest, sides, hips, gauging his reaction and pleasure from the responsiveness of his mouth. His cock prodded her thighs and belly as she shifted over him.

"Please," whispered Neloth against her lips, and she pressed herself down over his cock, and with a flirt of her hips upwards, left him wanting. And then a moment later, "I'm rather out of practice."

"I'm enjoying myself," Avaru said, half-reassuringly and half-teasingly.

"That's not precisely what I meant," he grumbled, and she laughed and bit the tip of his long ear, which sent a shiver through his body. She took pity on him a few moments later, once she'd grown tired of tonguing and nipping his ears. She carefully lowered herself on his cock. He almost cried out as she did, his hips jerking upwards.

Avaru leaned forward, and her hands closed around his throat, carefully applying light pressure to the sides. "Careful, now," she warned. He writhed under her. "I intend to set the pace here."

Set the pace she did: slow, and keeping a steady pressure on his throat. His eyes had rolled up a little, and every so often he winced. She let up at such times, and he would glare at her or make sounds that were almost-but-not-quite whimpers until she choked him again. She watched his pleasure and felt him hard inside her, and grew more hot and impatient.

Slowly, slowly, with Avaru pacing herself with iron discipline, they picked up speed. "Don't let go, don't come," she warned, adding more pressure to his throat. She rolled her hips, taking him deep, "I'll take my pleasure first."

"Yes," Neloth breathed, his hands gripping the sheets as if to anchor himself. Avaru rode him fast now, setting the pace her body wanted, her breath coming as harshly as Neloth's when she eased on his throat. Then she braced her arms to either side of him, unable to keep the control, and let herself come, her whole body shaking with the force of it.

Neloth half-whined, half-moaned, feeling her tense around him, his eyes fixed on her face. His breathing was more ragged than hers, which she'd expected, and his throat was ruddy where she'd gripped it. He said, "Please...", hoarsely.

"Alright," snarled Avaru, not meanly—but harsh with the heat of the moment, her skin taut and sensitive even as her muscles relaxed into jelly. She clenched down tight around Neloth's cock as his back arched and a ragged, almost-painful cry wrenched from his throat.

Avaru tumbled down to the bed, Neloth rolling to wrap his arms around her. She laughed suddenly and ran a finger down his cheek and beard. "I think you have about thirty percent less frown-wrinkles," she commented.

"My reputation is utterly damaged," said Neloth. He half turned over, dramatically dashing a hand over his forehead.

"They won't hear it from me," said Avaru. She propped herself up on her elbow.

"This was a satisfactory experiment, was it not?" Neloth asked, lightly touching his throat where it was doubtless sore and tender.

Avaru grinned. "I do believe it was."


	2. Avaru and Teldryn

Avaru Nerethi stood at the coastline, watching Red Mountain smudge into darkness as the sun set. She had removed her armour and cleaned her sword and hands of blood, but her mind had drifted again.

Teldryn Sero was being paid enough that it didn't bother him, much, that he set up camp alone. Still, he enjoyed his work so much more on those days when Avaru treated him like an equal, and fought and worked at his side. Sometimes, it was hard to work with a legend, even if her memory was a patchwork. Not even a year ago, she had averted the end of the world, and it had left its mark on her mind. He couldn't blame her for distance. They never talked about it. Teldryn would have never believed her to be Dragonborn, if he hadn't seen the deference shown to her by Nords. She certainly didn't look like a Nord legend: yes, she was tall and thick with muscle by Dunmer standards, but her face was hollow and gaunt with memories her flesh alone remembered. Her pale yellow hair, shaved on one side and long on the other, was streaked with silver.

She moved with precision, not grace, and bore few scars on her face. However Teldryn knew, from travelling these four months with her, that the story was very different on the rest of her body: her adventures were mapped in scars and burns.

Teldryn shook his head and fortified their small fire with a spark of magic flame. He usually preferred the short, lithe, and wide-hipped kind of Dunmer lady, the sort that dressed loud and moaned louder. But he was too old to try and ignore the fact that he wanted Avaru. He just accepted it and worked past it.

"You'll catch sniffles, out in the night wind," he yelled over the wind. "And then I'll be running about brewing you tea like that poor s'wit working for Neloth."

Avaru turned, her lopsided hair blowing into her face. She padded off her rock and over the sand to the leeside of the overhang. "I'm starting to acquire a taste for canis root," she said. Her husky voice was often matter-of-fact.

"Ugh," Teldryn said, and tossed her a bottle of sujamma. "Drink that, it's far better. Get drunk. I intend to, gonna burn out the past week."

"I've been to Apocrypha before," said Avaru, unruffled. She'd caught the sujamma by the bottle's thick neck and examined it. She rarely drank anything that wasn't water or health draughts, and Teldryn had never seen her properly drunk. "You weren't even with me."

"I don't need to be in Apocrypha to find it horrifying," Teldryn grumbled. He didn't trust those otherworldly tentacles. He had a horrible worry he'd seen more of Hermaeus Mora than any mer should already, that he and Avaru were damaged beyond repair. He smiled shortly to himself. Avaru was already damaged beyond repair, in mind if not body.

"If I died, you'd have my share of the loot," she pointed out. She popped open the bottle and drank, in dainty sips as if it were tea. Teldryn realized he was watching her throat swallow and pulled his gaze away.

"Tch. And when that runs out, who'll be my employer? You're nearly the richest mer in Skyrim. I'd prefer you alive."

"Hire with another Nord, or a company," Avaru suggested. Teldryn spat on the other side of the fire, away from her. She laughed. "Stop your fretting. I think our favourite Daedra Lord is only toying with me." She spoke lightly but she wasn't looking at Teldryn, and her knuckles paled over the bottle. "He wants me alive."

Teldryn decided to skip right over that terrible notion. "You know what I think you need? A holiday. Somewhere sunny. Clear skies."

Avaru lifted her eyebrows. "Why? I have work here."

"I know in Skyrim they say Dunmer are dour, but must you be a walking stereotype?" Teldryn downed half his sujamma in a gulp.

"Ah," said Avaru. She shifted around the fire to sit on the log next to Teldryn. "You don't think I'm any fun."

"Well, I'm with you to work," said Teldryn, suddenly uncomfortable.

Avaru shrugged, and Teldryn, evaluating, decided that she reminded him of nothing so much as a sabrecat, with their soft coats disguising those big deadly muscles. He swallowed reflexively, and almost flinched when her gaze went immediately to his throat.

"I don't mean to bore you," she said. "It's not fair to pay you to be with me at all hours of the day, leaving your—," she paused to lick her lips "—needs unfulfilled."

"That half a bottle of sujamma's addled your wits," said Teldryn hoarsely.

Avaru laughed. "You really think so?"

"You're not serious," Teldryn said, but then she leaned forward, pressing her lips to his. They were a little dry—well, and so were his, since she insisted on staying on this ash-riddled island. Then her tongue was slipping politely into his mouth and he forgot about discomfort immediately. Her hair was falling softly over the right side of his face, and her hands were cupping his cheeks, calloused thumbs brushing over his stubble, and she was sucking on his lower lip and suddenly he felt a lot better about Solstheim and ash, and he wasn't thinking about nightmares anymore. Lost between her hands, one now holding his face against hers, the other circling his back, he felt his muscles relax. He felt safe here with her, in their little quiet camp on the east coast of Solstheim, even with the cold winds from the mountains and the sea pushing at them, even with the threat of Daedra and dragons and Miraak looming in their future.

She pulled back, her hand at the back of his head coming around to cup his chin gently. "Are you all right? Is this..."  
  
"Yeah," he breathed. "I mean, I don't normally sleep with employers, I mean, it's not my policy, I mean they've all been men anyway and I don't normally—but you know..."

"Teldryn, dear," she said with a sardonic smile—gentler kin to the expression she wore when fools picked a fight with her—"you are babbling."

He sighed and reached for her, and she flowed into his arms like the sea at the coast. "Of course I've never worked for someone like you before," he mumbled against her lips, feeling foolish.

"No," said Avaru thoughtfully. Then she kissed him swiftly. "We'll work this out. We're partners, hmm?"

"Okay," said Teldryn, with something like relief. He didn't want to deal with business. He wanted to press his face against the soft spot where her neck met her shoulders, and see if he could make her shudder with little nips. He could, so he did; and she did shudder; and even moaned, lightly and languidly, as he ran his tongue over her collarbone.

It wasn't the best campsite for fucking, really. Too much sand, and he hadn't pitched a tent, since it wasn't so cold now that they were out of the mountains. They pulled the bedrolls together and opened them up to make a makeshift bed. Avaru pressed Teldryn down, becoming bolder and more aggressive with each kiss, each caress. That excited Teldryn more than he expected; he was hard and aching for her before they'd removed a single piece of clothing.

He'd just gone too long without a lay, he told himself. But he couldn't imagine a time could come when Avaru, growling playfully and kissing with passion, wouldn't have this effect on his body.

There was nothing languorous about them now; they kissed hungrily and later Teldryn wouldn't recall who had removed the other's clothing first. They were careful enough to fold up their clothes and place them on their nearby packs, so they wouldn't be riddled with sand. Naked now, they felt the cold, and pressed against each other as much for warmth. They built the fire bigger with magic, and laughed because they'd cast the spell at the same time. It roared up like a squat column barely two feet away, but neither of them paid it much attention now. They were Dunmer; they did not fear a campfire.

In the firelight, Avaru's scars glittered like ribbons of silver across her back and arms and thighs and calves. Teldryn admired them, even the ugly places where the flesh was twisted or gouged. He tracked the big choppy scar on her chest with his mouth, kissing it at intervals, licking at others, while she gasped and ran her hands over his body. Her breasts were small, barely a palmful. When he sucked them she gasped, and arced her back, her nails digging into his shoulders. He laughed in sheer pleasure.  
  
He continued his explorations further, where her belly curved, a little softness that delighted him, and he would have gone lower, but she pulled him up and kissed him. "Another time, in a more comfortable location," she promised, her eyes gleaming. "This is wonderful, Teldryn—ah!" His hands caressed her nipples and breasts and arms while she spoke. "But it's chilly and I don't think we should take too long. Is that—do you mind?"

Now her hands were slipping down to reach around his cock. He gasped, his hips thrusting out by pure instinct. "Th-that's fine. Avaru. Oh—"

She wrapped her legs around him and settled herself over the head of his cock. He closed his eyes as she gently eased herself onto him. Perfect heat. And such wet softness. He started slow, delicately slow, easing in, easing out. She lay down and let him work at that pace as she took deep shuddering breaths and wriggled happily on the bedrolls.

As soon as he picked up the pace, however, she sat up, so that he was kneeling with Avaru in his lap, and she rode him, angling him, biting her lip as she adjusted her hips to let him stroke against wherever inside her felt best. And then her hips were moving, snapping against his, setting the speed, and her mouth was on his again.

Her other hand stole down between their bodies. "Hope you don't mind," she said breathlessly, "I'd just like to ensure I come too."

"By—all means," said Teldryn, who was just as glad. He thrust into her at his preferred pace, and by the way she responded, her inner muscles tightening around him, her fingers furious on her clit, making the loveliest desperate groans, she was enjoying it too. When he came he bit down on her shoulder, almost involuntarily, and she yelped, and then made a sound so like a purr he almost came again although he wasn't sure that was even possible.

She came shortly after, all her muscles stiffening, her breathing irregular, and then suddenly all tension released. She moaned incredibly.

They sat for a few more minutes, panting, sweat-streaked. Teldryn softened inside her, and slipped out. She rested her head on his shoulder and nuzzled his neck.

"I'm really going to hope that wasn't a one-off," said Teldryn finally.

"Well, unless you decide you don't want me, I'm ready for more," said Avaru.

Teldryn grinned at her and caressed her patchwork skin. "Right now?"

Avaru stroked his soft cock with a finger. "Are you up for more?"

"Realistically? No. Also, I'm cold."

Avaru laughed and kissed his cheek. "Let's tidy up and get our clothes back on. I'm pretty sure _you_ don't want to get sniffles."


	3. Neloth and Teldryn

"I don't like it," said Teldryn Sero for roughly the seventh time.

Neloth glared at the mer from over the worktable. "She can take care of herself, mercenary. She hardly needs your help. You probably slow her down."

Sero was not a young apprentice-mage, dazzled by the Telvanni name, easily cowed by a sharp word. He rolled his eyes. "If she didn't want me, she wouldn't pay me."

"I wouldn't pay you to dig up an ash yam," Neloth grumbled. "You talk too much."

"Now that's a scrib calling a shalk an insect," Sero said. "If I don't miss my guess, Master Neloth, you're not happy with this plan either."

Neloth shrugged, unwilling to let Sero see his unease. "The Skaal have nothing to interest me. In addition, I have little to say to the Skaal that would make them more likely to listen to Avaru. It is not my business." He finally gave up on trying to attach the leg to the modified spider centurion he was building, and levelled a withering stare at Sero. "I am letting you stay here, free of charge, as a favour to Avaru. Do not try my patience, boy."

The mercenary rolled his well-muscled shoulders and stretched, grinning briefly. "You're the very soul of charity," he said in his deep, sarcastic drawl.

Neloth glowered at the centurion on his desk, his concentration absolutely wrecked by the change of pace at Tel Mithryn. Talvas and that new steward, Drovas, were on errands to Raven Rock, something about ensuring enough food was stocked up. Avaru had dropped off her mercenary without much in the way of niceties, as if Tel Mithryn were a hostel and not a Telvanni stronghold. As it turned out, Teldryn Sero was a terrible house-guest: he went where he pleased, asked questions or made comments at inconvenient times, and, thanks to the snow-and-ash storm that had descended on them the previous night, refused to leave the tower. At least he was willing to make stew.

If Neloth had been half the wizard he used to be, before the Red Year, when he had been lord of Tel Naga, he might have simply turned Sero into a housecat. Even, he thought grumpily as he fidgeted with centurion parts and soul gem fragments, just a few months ago, before Avaru Nerethi had come into his life and aroused his interest. More than simply his interest.

Bah. He turned away from desk and the sight of Sero stretching. The mercenary, clothed only loose trousers, had begun a series of warrior's stretches meant to keep the body honed and ready for battle.

"Seeing as we're cooped up in here, we could at least try to be friendly," Sero commented. Neloth turned his head slightly. Sero sat on the floor now, in an odd contortion, twisted backwards.

"I am not 'cooped'," Neloth said. "This is my tower. The only irritant here is you."

Sero rose to his feet in a fluid motion and sauntered forward, palms up. "Well, then, Master Wizard, why don't you tell me how I can be less irritating?"

Neloth arched an eyebrow. He and Sero had shared Avaru, the night before she headed to visit the Skaal, but neither had much to do with the other directly. In fact, before Avaru, he wouldn't have thought anything of turning Sero down. Sex could be a pleasant diversion, but there were magical mysteries still uncovered, staves unperfected, charms unsaid. Celibacy had become a comfortable, invisible habit; since Avaru, however, he found he'd missed the fulfillment of other, baser, urges.

"I suppose I could," Neloth said, almost smiling, "As I mentioned before, you talk too much. There are—" by this point Sero had stepped quite close, and Neloth leaned forward, "—better ways to keep your mouth occupied."

"Like this?" said Sero, and kissed him full on the mouth. Not harshly, as Avaru kissed—she had some instinct of Neloth's preferences, at least with women—but with firmness. The word 'cocksure' flitted through Neloth's mind. When tongue was added, it was Sero who initiated, not forceful, but with—energy. Neloth pulled back with real reluctance.

"I had something else in mind," said Neloth.

"Did you now," said Sero, looking Neloth up and down. "What makes you so sure I'll just let you order me about, hmm?" He cupped Neloth's cheek briefly and then ran a fingertip up the long pointed length of his ear.

Neloth shivered. "It is my tower," he said, "and it was you who offered to be less of an irritant." He pressed a hand down on Sero's shoulder.

Sero shrugged, flicked the very tip of Neloth's ear with his finger, and sank to his knees. Neloth bit the inside of his mouth as Teldryn reached into his robes, which split in the front, allowing Teldryn to reach in, tug down his trousers, and pull out his cock with minimal fuss. Neloth groaned and realized, with amused surprise, that as soon as his cock was brought into the equation, he'd started thinking of the mercenary as 'Teldryn' instead of 'Sero.'

As Teldryn ran his fingers over Neloth's cock, teasing it to full hardness, Neloth adjusted his breathing and began to cast a spell.

Arousal could fog up any mer's brain, making magic that much harder, but Neloth was old and skillful, and he'd been a Telvanni Master for most of his life. He was well acquainted with his own shortcomings, namely, his selfishness; but pride was another, and when it came to sex it was pride that came first, and some of it was professional. A third-rate battlemage like Teldryn could never have cast such a spell, especially not while aroused and otherwise occupied, but it was a matter of seconds for Neloth to recall the spell and work it with a mental incantation and some quick hand gestures.

Teldryn looked up, his mouth centimetres from the head of Neloth's cock, but Neloth thrust his hips forward, nudging Teldryn's mouth, and Teldryn obediently opened up. And, just as quickly, groaned and pulled back, his hands clenching and unfurling in confusion.

Neloth shrugged in an answer to Teldryn's wordless question. "Don't you like your incentive?" he asked, amused. Teldryn, it seemed, was speechless. Either he didn't know this spell or he hadn't slept with many illusionists. Neloth hadn't invented it—and he'd actually forgotten who'd taught it to him, as it had not been a lover, and it had been long before he had attained his master-rank—but it was certainly a good trick: anything Teldryn did to Neloth's cock, he would feel on his own. "The spell will only last as long as I'm interested, so you might as well get going, hmm?"

Teldryn smirked and leaned forward. Neloth closed his eyes. For someone who seemed to prefer women, Teldryn wasn't half bad at cocksucking. Knew enough to change up a rhythm, put that rather dexterous tongue to use... And the fact that he was feeling his own results certainly didn't abate Teldryn's enthusiasm. Neloth reached down impulsively, lightly gripping Teldryn's crest of hair. Teldryn moaned in response and squirmed deliciously, his hips working back and forth in response to the phantom stimulation. His hips moved faster when Teldryn sucked; and slowed to little bucks when he licked.

Neloth closed his eyes, the better to concentrate and catalogue sensations: the occasional itchy brush of Teldryn's scruff as his head changed angles; the light touches of his calloused fingers encircling the base of Neloth's cock, or following the wet trail of Teldryn's mouth up and down, or playing with almost ticklish gentleness with Neloth's balls; Teldryn's panting and occasional grunts; the muffled roar of the ashstorm outside the tower.

After some time—how long, Neloth had no idea—Teldryn drew back, his lips and chin wet. He paused to control his breath, and looked up, one side of his mouth tugged upwards in a smug half-grin. "Is this how you want the night to go?"

"Hmm?"

Teldryn tapped the tip of Neloth's cock with a finger, and Neloth gasped (and Teldryn bit his lip briefly). "D'you want this to be the main event?"

Neloth hadn't really thought that far ahead. "I-I suppose not."

Teldryn stood up fluidly and pressed his open lips to Neloth's. "Then let's take this to your bed, Master Wizard," he said.

The kiss was salty with sweat and precome, and cut short due to Teldryn tugging Neloth to the bedroom. Neloth thought it was a bit presumptuous, but somehow that didn't seem quite as important as getting into bed. He rolled his impertinent mercenary over and straddled him. If someone were to be in charge, and it was not Avaru, then it should be Neloth. Teldryn, for his part, grinned up at Neloth, then closed his eyes in pleasure as Neloth ran his fingertips over Teldryn's muscled torso.

Neloth flicked his fingers, and Teldryn's eyebrows furrowed as he recognized the spellworking. His body tensed, but he was not fast enough: the tendrils of wood that made up the ornate headboard of Neloth's bed struck at once, catching Teldryn's hands in their tight unyielding grip. He growled and arched his back, and tiny flames shot from his hands before he regained control of himself.

"Don't just _spring_ that on me!" he snapped. "I could kill you."

"Could you?" Neloth asked curiously, pressing Teldryn back down.

"Another trick like that and we'll find out."

Neloth shrugged and grasped Teldryn's cock beneath his trousers. The other mer flinched. "We could try that," he said absently, giving Teldryn's cock a good stroke and carefully examining how Teldryn's lips parted in a gasp. "But I'm enjoying this, and I do think you are too."

The veins stood out in Teldryn's arms as he pulled at his wooden bonds. "The line between enjoyment and violence can be thin," he growled.

Neloth leaned over and kissed beneath Teldryn's ear. "Indeed," he murmured, and then bit down. Teldryn yelped. Neloth's fingers skimmed over Teldryn's chest, pausing to brush over a nipple. "What a fearsome combatant you must be," Neloth said, and Teldryn swore a blistering string of oaths that ranged from the obscene to the blasphemous.

Neloth, bored, bit down on the nipple, and Teldryn yelped again, louder and higher. The swearing that followed grew tedious, so Neloth sat back, ran through a mental list of silencing spells, and then picked the easiest one he knew: he imagined a knot tightening, and he made a grabbing gesture in the air. Teldryn's throat worked, his tongue and lips formed words, but there was no sound at all. "That's quite enough of that," Neloth said, and kissed Teldryn possessively. His hands cupped Teldryn's head and held him still, his nails curled and pressing into the stubbly flesh of Teldryn's cheeks. Teldryn thrust up, hips and then torso rolling as he strained against his bonds. Neloth's response was to grind his cock into Teldryn's. Teldryn exhaled and as the silencing spell wore off, the exhalation turned into a groan.

It was too hot in the tower for so many layers. Neloth divested himself of his robes as Teldryn wriggled under him, flinching as Neloth (inadvertently) dragged a heavy sleeve over his cock. He tugged more at the headboard, but the bonds stayed in place.

"Enjoying yourself?" Neloth asked, pulling down the waistband of Teldryn's trousers.

"More if you weren't casting so many damn spells," said Teldryn, delightfully breathless.

Neloth ran his hand over Teldryn's cock. "You propositioned me," he pointed out.

Teldryn, who seemed to have lost track of the conversation, swore again and bucked up into Neloth's hand. "Hurry it up," he snarled.

Neloth looked over at his nightstand, and flicked a hand. The drawer opened, and a jar of oil sped to his hand. "Since you asked so nicely," he said. He had to stand then, to free them both of trousers. He uncorked the bottle, and Teldryn spread his legs obligingly to let Neloth have access.

The oil wasn't one of Neloth's: at best, he was an indifferent alchemist. Instead, it was something he knew Avaru and Teldryn had collaborated on, specifically for sexual use. It warmed and tingled at once as he spread it over his cock, and when he applied it liberally to Teldryn's anus, Teldryn moaned.

"Have you ever been on the receiving end before?" Neloth asked curiously as stretched the hole with slick fingers.

Teldryn said, shakily, "Not with men. Not often."

"Slow it is, then," said Neloth, who had enough control over himself to feel quite patient. He took his time stretching Teldryn, until Teldryn had enough; and then he fitted his cock to Teldryn's entrance and slowly pushed himself in, sighing with pleasure. Teldryn made a muffled noise, tensing. Neloth stopped.

"Well, don't be so slow I fall asleep," said Teldryn, pushing himself forward to take more of Neloth's cock.

"You're not remotely in danger of falling asleep," said Neloth, but thrust forward harder than he had. Teldryn made a sound that was suspiciously like a whimper and bit on his lip. "Is that more to your taste?"

The rhythm that seemed to work best was for Neloth to ease out, then in a bit, then thrust with some force. Teldryn's eyes to glazed over. Teldryn lifted up his legs to allow Neloth to angle deeper. They were silent, but for the occasional pant or grunt or groan.

And Neloth may just have enhanced the duration of it all with a little spell to keep himself erect longer, but he wasn't going to tell Teldryn that. He seemed to have fucked the mercenary into a trance. He carefully shifted his weight, so he was braced on knees and one arm, and reached over to grab Teldryn's cock and jerk it.

Teldryn's eyes refocussed. It didn't take much to draw out a loud moan from him as all his muscles tensed. He shuddered hard with his orgasm, coming in fairly impressive spurts over his belly and chest. He slumped back down on the bed.

Neloth let the spell he'd put on himself lapse. He came too, though more quietly than had Teldryn. It was not the same forceful release he'd felt with Avaru, with her hands on his throat—this was more comfortable, perhaps, a rising of tension, the rush of release. By the end, he was quite breathless, his limbs faintly trembling. Teldryn made such small sounds as his cock slipped out, sounds that might've gotten Neloth hard again if he had the stamina of a young mer.

"Now are you going to let me go?" Teldryn asked, his voice rough-edged and almost slurred.

Neloth blinked at him. "Oh, yes, of course." He waved a hand at the headboard; its loops relaxed their grip, and Teldryn yanked his arms down and began to rub his wrists. They were somewhat abraded and red. "I suppose that was an enjoyable diversion," Neloth commented. He wasn't about to apologize for the headboard, no matter how much of a fuss Teldryn made about it. Big mercenary like him wasn't a stranger to a little discomfort, and anyway, Teldryn had enjoyed himself.

"And now you're going to go back to your experiments," said Teldryn.

"Actually," said Neloth, "I was thinking dinner. I don't suppose you can find something down in the kitchen?"

"You're utterly useless, aren't you?" asked Teldryn.

Neloth pursed his lips. "My aspirations and talents are of a higher order."

Teldryn shrugged. "All that to say you can't cook."

And Neloth hadn't even the heart to refute it.


	4. Avaru, Neloth and Teldryn

She came back pale and shivering and her lips were blue. Teldryn, undressing her in the bathing pod to the rear of Tel Mithryn, found her skin was clammy. "Do you feel cold?" he asked.

"I don't know," said Avaru. Her eyes snapped up and down and left and right, unfocussed. "I don't know."

"You were successful," said Teldryn, not sure if he meant it as a question or not.

"Barely," she said. She jerked hard to the side, as if flinching from something Teldryn couldn't see. He paused, then resumed his task: unbuckling her greaves and then her boots. Her armour was battered, slashed through in places, most of it covered in strange greenish-black ooze. Parts of the ebony were inexplicably corroded. He'd never seen anything like it. She stumbled, pulling her feet from her boots, and sat down abruptly on the fungal bench beside the wooden tub. Her clothes were a mess: ripped, bloodstained, twisted. She stank of blood, sweat, and rotten meat.

When she had fought Alduin, where had she ended up? Had she lain broken in the Skyrim snow, and had friends found her, or had strangers?

"You..." Teldryn said, and she looked at him when he hesitated. "You remember me."

She laughed, a short hard syllable. "Teldryn, sweetheart, you worry too much."

"I get paid to worry," he said, but he couldn't muster enough cheer to make the joke work. He moved to unbutton her shirt, but she slapped his hands away—weakly—and slipped out of her clothing herself. She hissed in pain as her tunic caught, and Teldryn carefully helped her extract threads from the bloodied gash in her side.

Before she slipped into the tub, Teldryn liberally poured knit-wound potion over every open wound. He emptied seven vials, and pretended not to hear Avaru's drawn breath nor the way every muscle tensed as she braced against the pain.

"I should have gone with you," he said as she leaned on his arm and gingerly stepped into the tub.

"And died," she said, her eyes finally settling on his. "Do you know what this was, Teldryn?"

"Horrifying?" he hazarded.

"This wasn't about skill, this wasn't about a fight. This wasn't a bandit lair you can map a strategy onto, not a war that an army could challenge. It's not... not Alduin, wanting to eat up a world. This was frivolity, a Daedra and his toy, a madman and his mania. If you'd come, you would have been discarded." She settled into the tub with the smallest moan of pain.

Teldryn ran through a number of responses in his head, each one a protest of hurt pride. He didn't agree but it didn't matter. "At least you survived," he said finally. She reached up and gripped his hand, and it shook him a little, to know she needed that contact, might need it all through the night.

She fell asleep in the tub and when Teldryn placed his hand on her shoulder to shake her, she jumped, sloshing water over the side. When she saw Teldryn, she relaxed. "The water's cold, anyway," she said.

She didn't seem to want to talk, so he helped her bandage her wounds in relative silence. The knit-wound had done its work: the wounds had closed and there was no blood in the bathwater, but it was no replacement for a bandage. They would help keep the wounds from reopening. Afterwards she slipped on a shapeless robe of pale kwama-silk, tied with a simple rope at the waist.

Getting her up to to Tel Mithryn was a struggle. She stumbled and needed to grip Teldryn's arm, and she couldn't manage the levitation charm, so he had to say it himself. Runes grown in the fungus helped strengthen the magic, somehow—a Telvanni trick—but Avaru fell to the floor as soon as the spell let them go.

Neloth left his workbench just as Teldryn had half-lifted half-guided Avaru to her feet.

"You look like Miraak had you for breakfast," Neloth said to Avaru.

"Hmm? Oh, yes," said Avaru, blinking at him. She sighed heavily and shook herself, her shoulders straightening. "He did, I think. I'm just what got hurled up after. On a more pleasing note, he's dead now."

"Yes, I did notice his influence has vanished. I expected nothing less."

Teldryn snorted. Neloth did not so much as glare at him, but he did raise an eyebrow infinitesimally.

Avaru smiled. "I know."

"And Hermaeus Mora hasn't marked you visibly?" Neloth asked, cupping Avaru's chin and twisting her head to the side.

Avaru batted his hand away, kitten-weak, but there was steel in her eyes. "Mind yourself," she snapped. "We can perform experiments later."

Neloth almost drooped, if a mer with a stick so far up his ass could droop. Which was about as much apology as Avaru was likely to get, not that she seemed to expect one. Teldryn said, "Grab Avaru's other arm, will you?" and, despite a brief protest from Avaru, they all but carried her.

To Teldryn's surprise, Neloth directed them to his own room, not Avaru's smaller one. "My bed's better for convalescents, and this way I can study her," Neloth informed Teldryn stiffly. By this point, Avaru was nearly asleep. "Now that Talvas is back," Neloth continued, drawing back the covers, "I won't need sleep anyway."

"How do you figure?" Teldryn said, laying Avaru down gently.

"He means he'll drink canis root tea," Avaru said, opening her eyes. "Stop treating me like I'm made of glass—regular glass."

"You're a wreck," Teldryn said.

"Superficially," she said. "But there's no way I'm sleeping at this rate."

"And what rate is that?" Neloth sat carefully on the bed.

Avaru made a vague, tired gesture in the air. "Oh, you know, mind racing, that sort of thing."

Teldryn felt his eyebrows rise. "Are you trying to be coy?" he asked.

"It doesn't suit her much, if she is," said Neloth, examining his fingernails, which were miraculously free of Dwemer oil.

Teldryn added, "You fell asleep in the bathtub."

Avaru sighed. "A little, and I'd rather not repeat that." She frowned, then added rapidly, "You'd expect someone to have nightmares if they battled Miraak, if they'd spent hours—or days—or hours in Apocrypha, wouldn't you? You would, and you wouldn't just... if I were to be very tired, excessively tired..."

Teldryn looked at Neloth, whose expression was set in a neutral scowl. "I'll stay up with you," he said.

Avaru propped herself up on her elbows and lay her head against Neloth's scarf-draped shoulder. "That wasn't what I meant."

"Mercenaries," Neloth said, "are not a terribly clever breed."

Avaru rolled her eyes at Teldryn. She said, "Technically speaking, I am a mercenary. Or I was. Before all the nonsense. After the ... dragon business, anyway." Neloth made an exasperated huffing noise—Teldryn decided it meant he was affronted by a need to apologize, and therefore would not extend any courtesy.

Avaru didn't seem to need an apology. She kissed Neloth's cheek and tugged at his scarf. Neloth's flicked towards the door, and then he sighed and turned his head to catch Avaru in a fuller, noisier kiss.

Teldryn crossed his arms. "Are you both sure this is a good idea?" he asked. "Bandages only do so much good—"

They turned to look at him at the same time. Avaru was flushed, her cheeks and eartips and lips pinkish. Teldryn caught his breath. They spoke at the same time.

"I assure you, I am capable of care and... delicacy ," said Neloth with a scowl.

"I'm not about to go harming myself, Teldryn, don't be ridiculous," said Avaru. She ran a hand over the bandage on her arm, fingering the brutal slash over her bicep. Teldryn winced.

"Look," he said, "I realize you've got nightmares—and you'll do what she says," he nodded at Neloth, who somehow managed to scowl harder, "but Avaru, this isn't exactly smart." He ran a hand over his hair, tugging at the bottom of it. "You need rest—"

Avaru laughed hoarsely. "I slept in the tub. What's this, nursemaid Teldryn?" Teldryn glowered. She continued, "I can rest and be distracted all at the same time." She shifted her weight, and hissed.

"Distracted by pain, more like," Teldryn said. "Neloth, do you have any painkillers?"

"What, you don't have any?" Neloth inquired. "Don't you keep a field kit? And it's 'Master Neloth' to you."

"Haven't had a chance to replace the painkillers," Teldryn said, watching Avaru adjust her body's position with difficulty.

"You've had time to make new—" Neloth said.

"But no ingredients!" Teldryn snapped, turning a little to give Neloth the full force of his glare. "What, you didn't notice the ash storm? The _dragons_? We had some painkilling potions. I gave them to Avaru. She used them all getting back here, so don't you even start on me, you withered old necromancer—"

"I will not be disrespected in my own tower," Neloth said, standing up abruptly. Avaru yelped at the jostling, and the blood drained from her face.

"Well, I'm not hardly surprised you care more for your pride than Avaru!"

"Really," said Avaru. They both turned to look at her, Neloth with an expression that could pickle an ash yam, and Teldryn still glaring. Avaru shook her head. "Both of you, stop squabbling. If you want to fight, there's a lot of empty floor down there. I'll watch."

"I am not 'squabbling,'" said Neloth.

"Teldryn makes a point about painkillers," said Avaru. "Neloth, do you have anything useful?"

Neloth sighed. "Restoration is not my area of expertise," he said. "I am an enchanter, and this is a study, not a hospital. Teldryn," he said, turning the name into an order. Teldryn bristled. "My workshop, the cabinet with the painted troll skull. There should be labelled potions there. Might be something useful. Talvas brews them. Don't touch anything else," he added.

Teldryn snorted. "I wouldn't be tempted," he said. "You don't need to tell me what to do in a wizard's workshop."

He heard Avaru murmur to Neloth as he left, but he didn't hear what she said. His blood simmered. He wanted to fight something. Something big and nasty, a dragon maybe. He was tired of Tel Mithryn, of the wet pulsing smell of mushroom all around him, of ash tracked in, and of Neloth insulting him day in and day out. That he was worried about Avaru did little to soften his temper: he didn't like to see her hurt, and it chafed him that he hadn't fought at her side.

Chafed him to know she thought so little of his skills.

The potion bottles and vial-racks were all labelled in Talvas's rounded daedric letters. The bottles were tinted for better preservation and ordered by magic school. There was one that would do, though it was for fever as much as pain relief.

When he returned to the bedroom, potion in hand, Avaru and Neloth were kissing, her hand fisted in the collar of Neloth's robe. He again sat on the edge of the bed, and Avaru's body curved around his like a bow. They broke apart when Teldryn came nearer. He unstoppered the bottle, wafted its bitter scent beneath his nose to gauge the strength, then handed it to Avaru. "Three swallows, but no more," he said. "It's willow and sweetpulp."

Avaru put the bottle to her lips. One swallow, a second, a third. She handed it back to Teldryn, Teldryn stoppered it, and set it aside on the night-table. She made a face. "That's really quite vile," she said. "The aftertaste."

"I won't kiss you again," said Neloth.

Avaru raised her eyebrows at him. "Were you given the choice?" she said, nearly purring. Teldryn felt a jolt run straight to his cock. Neloth's eyes widened. "But then again, you're both being so kind to me, when you're not sniping at each other," she said, running her hand down Neloth's face, half-caressing, half-possessive. "I should see that we are all rewarded." She looked up. "Teldryn, on your knees now, please."

Teldryn blinked at her. "What?"

"And you, Neloth."

Now they were both staring at her, Neloth looking baffled and affronted at once. She said, "Must I repeat myself?" in an unsettlingly calm voice.

Teldryn knelt at once. Neloth hesitated longer, but Avaru ran her finger down his neck like a promise or a warning, and he quickly slid off the bed and onto his knees, grumbling about his joints as he went. Since Teldryn knew he used magic to keep his body supple, Teldryn was not impressed with the grumbling. Neither, it seemed, was Avaru.

"Since you won't be kissing me, you might as well kiss each other," she said. "I'd like a distraction, and you'll provide one. And you'll disrobe each other for me, won't you?"

Teldryn did not want to disappoint her, though he'd rather kiss her, potion-taste or no. But Avaru wanted it so he sucked in a breath and leaned forward to kiss the scowl from Neloth's face. He unwound the scarf from Neloth's neck carefully, since coordinating a showy kiss at the same time made the manoeuvre tricky.

Neloth tapped Teldryn's shirt; it vanished and reappeared neatly folded on the floor beside them. Teldryn narrowed his eyes. Avaru laughed. "You'll have to teach me that trick," she said.

Neloth raised an eyebrow, his finger now pressed against Teldryn's sternum. "Are you versed in the School of Mysticism?" he inquired.

Avaru shook her head. "But I'm a fair hand at Alteration—"

"Maybe someday I'll figure out a variation," said Neloth.

"Not now, anyway," she agreed. "Please, continue."

Teldryn felt cold and ignored. Neloth plucked his scarf from Teldryn's grip. He said into Teldryn's ear, their cheeks touching, "Bend over." And when Teldryn hesitated, he added, "Now."

Teldryn looked at Avaru, who watched them avidly. He bent, feeling more ridiculous than he would if he'd been more aroused. Neloth ran his hand over Teldryn's ass, deliberately and slow—this was for Avaru's pleasure, but Teldryn enjoyed the touch more than he wanted to admit to himself. He didn't even protest when Neloth pulled back his arms and tied his wrists with the scarf. The knot wouldn't hold him if he wanted to get loose, but that wasn't the point.

Neloth stroked along Teldryn's spine, from neck to ass, the sort of show-offy gesture one might use if they were showing a horse or a dog. Teldryn turned his head to the side so he could watch Avaru watch them. Her face was lit with concentrated lust. Teldryn admired her, the scars that made her face forbidding, the powder-soft fluff of hair that nearly covered her eye—he was so focussed on her that Neloth's oil-wet finger at his anus made him jump.

Avaru laughed, not meanly. Teldryn wriggled, though he wasn't certain whether towards or away from Neloth. He was hard, certainly, and he _did_ want the other mer; he'd just hoped for more control. Instead it seemed Avaru was content to leave him at the bottom of their play-hierarchy.

"Neloth, I don't suppose you could adjust him," Avaru said, making a small gesture with her shaking hand. "A little more to the left, for a better view—ah, let me," and she made another gesture, a spell-gesture. Teldryn recognized it; it was part of a telekinesis spell.

What resulted was not a normal effect of telekinesis.

Tentacles exploded from the tower floor from some nexus below Teldryn, wrapping around him before he had even the chance to yell. He saw Avaru scramble backwards on the bed, eyes wide in shock, her mouth open as she screamed. The tentacles pulled him up, bending back his body in an uncomfortable stretch, then yanked him about. Neloth had jumped back, Teldryn saw: now he stood three paces away looking intrigued and utterly unflapped.

Neloth waved a hand at the tentacles; the air rippled with the invisible force of strong magic. Nothing happened but that the tentacles pulled Teldryn upright, facing both Neloth and Avaru. Teldryn was yelling in alarm and real fear. The tentacles were wettish, tacky things, a dull brown-grey. An eyeball scrutinized him from one long sinuous tendril; thicker ones held his ankles and pulled them apart. To his disgust, a thinner one wrapped around his cock and spiralled up and down; the sensation was strange and horrifically arousing. His yelling become a groan of disgust and desire.

"Banish it," he said to Neloth, his voice harsh and strained to his own ears.

"What do you think I'm doing?" replied Neloth in a voice so calm it set Teldryn's teeth on edge. "It's not responding to my spells. It's daedric in nature, you know. Funny. It should never have been allowed past my protections—"

Avaru meanwhile had stopped screaming. Her whole body shook, and she gleamed in sweat that had not been there a moment ago. "Yes, it is daedric. That's not what I meant to do," she said. Her voice was nearly as steady as Neloth's. As if she had not been panicked a moment before.

"I figured," said Teldryn. There was a tentacle around his neck, holding him with gentle pressure; smaller tentacles rubbed the length of his ears, synchronized with the tentacle on his cock; more caressed the planes of his chest or ran ticklish over his hips and thighs. It was like a nest of snakes, but with a more depraved purpose; and the lone eyeball regarded him almost lewdly. These were the same sort of tentacles that came forth from black books to wrench Avaru into Apocrypha. There was no doubt there, and everyone in the room knew it.

And his fear was fading as fast as it had set in. Startlement, and no more. The way he felt fogged at the edges was strange. He figured out what it was after a moment; arousal left no room for fear. The tentacle at his neck wasn't even squeezing; there was no threat from these things. He wished Avaru did not look so terrified.

She and Neloth spoke quickly, throwing the names of spells and concepts around. The air was tight and fluid with their combined spells. Teldryn didn't care about magic all of a sudden; he was caught in it anyway.

The tentacles suddenly pulled him around and down, so he was in the same position he'd been before they had sprouted, ass in the air, legs splayed out. He heard Avaru's voice falter, heard Neloth hum shortly to himself.

Then one by one they released Teldryn. The one on the neck, the ones on his arms and chest and legs; then ankles, then the thin one pulled away hard on Teldryn's cock and vanished. Just like that, they were gone.

Teldryn braced himself on his arms, breathing hard. "No," he muttered, almost wanting them back, or maybe trying to deny they had been there. They couldn't have held him for more than a few minutes. The air felt slippery with power over him. There had been no smell, he realised suddenly. They were not organic as far as Nirn was concerned.

"P-please," he said. He hadn't meant to stutter. But his voice could not possibly be steady. They couldn't leave him alone, not like this. He was harder than he would have ever thought possible, craving touch from anyone or anything.

"Yes," said Avaru in a tone he couldn't place. "Neloth..."

Teldryn could hear the smirk in the wizard's voice. "If you are composed and wanting to carry through with this, I can oblige you."

After a moment, Avaru said, "I will be fine. Fuck him." Her voice was hard, but there was a catch in it. Arousal or fear? Teldryn hoped it was arousal.

He felt Neloth settle behind him, and craned his neck around to look. Neloth prepared him, making Teldryn gasp at each slick intrusion of Neloth's bony fingers. Teldryn was impatient through it all, more than ready for Neloth's cock. The small, rational part of his mind was pleased with Neloth's patience and care. The rest of Teldryn just wanted stimulation, and now.

He could hear Avaru groaning in appreciation as Neloth fucked him; he heard the bed creak. He guessed she was fingering herself. The thought of that was almost too much. He pulled out of the scarf-tie with little trouble, grabbed his cock and stroked it, and then faster, and then in synch with Neloth's thrusts.

He came soon after that, with a yell stopped behind gritted teeth. His body shook. Warmth seeped over his fingers. Neloth thrust for a bit longer before slipping out of Teldryn. He stroked Teldryn's back for a moment, as Teldryn knelt shuddering in the aftermath. The tenderness completely surprised Teldryn. He was afraid to speak. The moment felt thin and light and strange.

Slowly Neloth helped Teldryn up, and gave him a dirty look when Teldryn wiped his hand on Neloth's scarf. They went to Avaru, settling on the bed. She was touching herself, her fingers fast on her clit.

Neloth and Teldryn exchanged a glance. Then Neloth grabbed her hands and held them away, replacing them with his own. Teldryn pressed a kiss on her neck, and said into her ear, "Relax. We'll take care of you."

He saw her smile, and then he had to kiss the smile, and then listen to her breathing come faster and faster. He played gently with her breasts, flicking a finger across her nipples just to see her pleasure. He was careful with his weight, making sure never to push against her or make any fast motions. Whatever horror the tentacle-conjuration had created was fading from her eyes.

Her whole body stiffened. He gently held her still as Neloth worked her over the edge, and nearly got hard again just feeling her orgasm beside him.

They sat cuddled like that for long moments, Neloth even staying—and for a wonder not speaking or complaining

"I don't know what happened," Avaru whispered hoarsely. "I only meant to adjust the way the scarf held Teldryn's arms, maybe tug him around a little. I don't—"

Neloth said, and Teldryn thought that maybe he stayed so patiently with her half because he wanted to study her more, "I'd thought he'd left no mark on you. Interesting to see that my initial assessment was incorrect." There was no doubt as to which 'he' was meant.

"Maybe I should have left you to do experiments," said Avaru.

"You couldn't have known," said Neloth dismissively. "It is true that you will need rest before you can stand up to the rigours of appropriate testing. Still, it seems that your conjuration was, if unexpected, entirely inside your control. Your magicka fed it and held it readily, even as tired as you were. I would not be surprised if this was some trick that a strong mage might pick up in Apocrypha."

"An infection in my magicka," Avaru said bitterly.

Neloth shook his head. "You had control of that. It could have killed or hurt Teldryn; instead you may have noticed it seemed bent on pleasuring him. That was your will, not the will of a daedric entity."

Teldryn could not extract the frisson of sexual excitement that lay entwined with the memory of the tentacles. "The experience was unique," he mumbled.

"Unique," said Avaru. "Well." Her voice seemed to solidify and harden. "Then I will master it and control it. Now that I know this... whatever it is... is tangled up in my magicka, I can watch for it." She looked at Teldryn, her arm tightening around him. "Perhaps this can be harnessed for unusual uses, if you were that taken with it."

Teldryn winced. "We'll see," he said.

Avaru laughed. She looked like herself again, which lightened Teldryn's heart considerably. For now, despite these strange influences, they were safe, and those moments needed to be kept and stored up against the struggles of the future.

 


End file.
